MCIP urges foreign media not to participate in the russian propaganda spectacle in Mariupol
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy calls on all foreign media to refrain from participating in any russian propaganda events in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
This is said in the Ministry's statement.
We remind that on May 17, the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that russia is trying to lure foreign media into the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories to produce fakes. In particular, from May 18 to 21, the occupiers are preparing a "press tour" for the media to show the destroyed areas of Mariupol.
The russian Ministry of Defense is trying to involve media representatives from France, the United States, Germany, Japan, Greece, China, Belarus, India, Venezuela, Bulgaria, and the UAE.
MCIP notes that holding such events for foreign media in the temporarily occupied territories is an attempt by russian propagandists to paint a manipulative picture of events in Ukraine for internal and external audiences.
"Namely, the occupiers intend to accuse Ukraine of their crimes: the destruction of the city and the mass murder of civilians. To make everything into a realistic picture, the russians brought fragments of Ukrainian ammunition collected in the occupied areas of Donetsk region to Mariupol. They also found people who will play the role of 'local eyewitnesses from Donetsk and Horlivka,'" the statement reads.
The ministry said that they strongly condemned the occupiers' intentions to distort the real situation for foreign media, as well as the very possibility of journalists participating in the russian propaganda spectacle.
The MCIP also noted that crossing the state border or the demarcation line, staying and counducting any activity in the occupied territories by the media, including foreign media, is regulated by Ukrainian legislation and international law. Therefore, the participation of foreign journalists in any press tours on the territory of Ukraine should take place only in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine.
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